The Chronosian
by theworldisahead
Summary: The journey of a Force-sensitive Time Lord as she tries to find her place in this vast universe. But, she's not your average Time Lord... Then what is she? She wants to know as well. (Many of these stories already exist, but with Arkae weaved into them. Please excuse any interference with existing cannon, as this is set in an alternate universe.)
1. PtI: A Fate Written In The Stars, Ch1

I.) A Fate Written In the Stars

Chapter 1

She woke up dazed. Where was she? Her mouth was parched, and her clothes were a bit scorched. As the world swam into view she saw two blazing suns, and a desert that stretched on for what seemed to be forever. She stood up on shaky legs and glanced around her. Nothing. Nothing as far as she could see. She started walking. She didn't know where to, but it felt like the right direction.

As she walked she tried to remember how she had gotten there. She closed her eyes for a moment and reached farther back in her memory… But it was as empty as the desert before her. What? However, before she had time to question the apparent amnesia, she saw something. A blurb in the distance. A city? She started to walk faster despite her growing fatigue.

After what seemed like eternity she reached the outskirts of the small town. Well, it was more like a trading post. Stands lined the streets, selling everything from bizarre looking fruits to twisted scraps of metal. She couldn't decide whether the various aromas coming from the food stands made her hungry or sick. There were people of all species everywhere, all bustling and pushing as they bartered and bought various goods. Some of these people looked quite seedy. Giant lizard-like animals loitered near the clay buildings as the merchants loaded their merchandise onto their backs. Droids of all shape, form, and condition seemed to wander in no particular direction through the street, and small animals ran back and forth between the stands. She quickly jumped out of the way of a rusty, old speeder as it whizzed past her. The driver yelled a very rude word back at her.

She wandered through this bustling market, accidentally bumping into a tall man in white armor. He stared down at her, and she felt a chill as she stared back at the skull-like helmet. However a fight broke out at the end of the street and the armored man rushed over to break it up. She slipped into the nearest building.

It was a cantina, and was perhaps more busy and shady-looking than outside. A band played lively music as the patrons talked, and drank. She coughed a little as a four-limbed, green-skinned alien lit up a pipe near her.

"Hey you!" said a loud, gruff voice, "What're ya doing in here?" She turned to see that it was a larger human behind the bar. "Yeah, you!" he grunted, "You don't belong in here!" And suddenly everybody in the bar was staring at her. Even the band had stopped playing. Her hearts started beating faster.

"She's with me," said somebody in the crowd. A teal-skinned alien with large black eyes, and a small trunk stepped out from the crowd. "I had to step inside for a bit to talk to somebody, and she must have gotten impatient," the Rhodian continued. "What is she, your slave?" asked the bartender. "No! Of course not!" The alien glared at the human. "Whatever, just take her outta here, and make sure she doesn't come back," the bartended said as he turned back to his patrons.

The music started back up as the alien gently shepherded her out of the cantina and around the corner where there was less chaos. He kneeled so that he was on her level. "That is no place for somebody like you, little one," he said, "What's your name?"

What?! Name? What was her name? She had been too caught up in the madness of everything to realize that… She had no idea who she was. She frowned, trying to remember something. Anything. She could see the Rhodian starting to look worried. She desperately searched her blank memory for any kind of clue. How could she forget who she was? She looked down and saw she was wearing a small silver pendant. It was the shape of a crescent moon, with half of a swirling seal engraved on the edge. The seal looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn't place it. On the back were two letters: R K. RK. Is that her name? RK. Ar-kae?

She looked up at the alien. "Arkae," she said, with as much confidence as she could muster. The Rhodian look surprised, then smiled, "Nice to meet you, Arkae. My name is Pent. Are you lost?" She looked down again, "I think so. I don't even know how I got here." Pent looked worried again. "Is there somebody I can call for you?" She shook her head. Pent stood up. He looked to the horizon, where the first sun had begun to set. "It will soon be dark," he said, "And it's more dangerous to be out here at night. The temperature drops below freezing and the Tusken Raiders will be out. Why don't you come and stay with me for the night? We can figure out what to do in the morning."

She took a step back. She didn't even know this man. He seemed kind enough, but how could she tell? He smiled kindly at her. "It's okay," he said, "I know I'm a stranger to you. You don't have to come if you don't want to. Just get somewhere safe for me, okay?" She nodded. He stood up. "At least let me buy you something to eat. You look starved." That seemed okay. She followed him the nearest food stand where he bought two bluish fruits with purple stripes, and large flowers sticking out the end. "We have these on my planet," he said, "They're good for rehydrating oneself after a long day. I have a feeling that it will do you some good."

She took the fruits and smiled at him. "Thank you." He nodded and said, "Be safe, young Arkae. If you need me, my home is located on the northern side of the spaceport. It's the only house with the garden." With that he walked away, and disappeared into the crowd.

Arkae stood there for a moment, with the fruits in her hands. Then she reached out with her mind. Pent. He was like a beacon of light in the middle of a storm; he was only source of kindness in this run down spaceport. She decided to trust him, for she knew he was telling the truth about the desert at night. Already the temperature had dropped significantly. On the horizon she saw shadows of figures riding large beasts, and she didn't have a good feeling about them. She followed the kindly Rhodian and asked if it was alright if she could stay. He smiled and let her in.

As Pent made a makeshift bed for her on the couch, she walked around the room, looking at the things on display. She saw a picture of Pent and what appeared to be his wife and small child. "Is this your family?" she asked Pent. He turned to see the picture and his expression saddened. "Yes," he said, "It was." She sensed his distress. "What happened?"

He sat down on the chair next to the couch, and sighed. "They were taken away from me," he said, "By the Empire." "Why?" He looked down, "My child was Force-sensitive. He would have had the potential to become a Jedi had he been born many years earlier. But the Empire wants nothing to do with the Jedi. I suppose you're too young to remember that, though. But you must have heard of it… Anyways, they took them away." He started to tear up. "I wasn't there when it happened…. I…"

She didn't know what to say. "I'm so sorry," she said. He wiped his eyes and tried to compose himself quickly. We gave a weak smile. "It's late. You should get some sleep and we can see if we can find where you belong in the morning." She nodded and climbed into the makeshift bed. "Thank you," she said as started to walk to his room. "You're welcome," he said, turning out the light.

The light of the three small moons flowed through the window as Arkae's head swam with the events of the day. She needed to figure everything out. Where was she? How did she get there? What was the Empire? The Jedi? This Force? And most importantly, who was she? It distressed her that she couldn't remember anything before this day. She grasped the silver pendant in her hand as she tried to make sense of it all. But eventually, she gave into exhaustion and fell into a deep sleep.


	2. PtI: A Fate Written In The Stars, Ch2

I.) A Fate Written In the Stars

Chapter 2

Arkae sat at the table as Pent served dinner. It had been six months since she had mysteriously appeared on Tatooine. Over the six months she and Pent had searched all the while, but they were not able to find where she had come from or the meaning of the seal on her pendant. So, Pent sort of adopted her.

Since then, Arkae had gotten some answers, but not much. She learned that Pent was once a respectable businessman on the capitol planet of Coruscant. But when the Republic fell, he fled. Now the galaxy was ruled by a totalitarian dictatorship: the Empire. According to Pent the Empire was relatively new, and was ruled by an evil man who had taken over the galaxy and wiped out the Jedi. The Jedi were an order of Force-sensitive warriors who kept the peace in the galaxy before they went extinct. Now the galaxy was in a state of turmoil. However, Pent said there was still hope, for there was a rebellion on the rise to restore the Republic.

And though some of Arkae questions were relatively cleared up, the mystery of herself had deepened. There were no schools on Tatooine, so Pent tried to teach Arkae himself. Strangely, she was already fluent and literate in every language that Pent knew, and probably more. She also had a vast knowledge in math, science, technology, and more. And on top of that she was also incredible fast and strong. Arkae could tell that all of this unsettled Pent. She was only eight years old, how could she have learned all of this?

But her extraordinary skills were not the only reason to take precautions. One day Pent was in the garden while Arkae sat on the bench and watched. Pent looked up and found that she was not watching him, she was instead focusing on three stones. Three levitating stones. "Arkae?" he said. At that she lost her concentration and looked up at him. The stones clattered to the ground. Arkae was Force-sensitive. That night Pent told her to never show off her powers in public. During those dark times, Force-sensitives were either torn away from their families, or killed. When Arkae asked what the Force was, he couldn't really explain, only that it was the source of a Jedi's power.

Arkae was fascinated by this Force. She obeyed Pent, and didn't show off any signs of it in public, but at home she constantly practiced her ability with it. And she actually got quite good. What's more were her eyes. Arkae's light blue eyes started to glow when she used the Force. The more Force power she used, the brighter they got, a stark contrast to her jet black hair.

But none of that was on anybody's mind tonight. It had been a mellow day, and now it was time for a nice supper. When she started to clear the table, she glanced out the window and frowned. "Pent," she said, "What's that?" Pent stood up and squinted out the window. A squad of stormtroopers was heading towards them, their white armor glinting in the setting suns. "Stay inside," Pent said, and walked outside. Arkae stood by the door as he approached the stormtroopers.

"Are you Pentleon Fenal?" the leading trooper asked. "Yes, I am. May I help you with anything, gentlemen?" Pent maintained his calm, but he was fearful, Arkae could feel it. Without warning the trooper struck Pent on the head with the barrel of his gun, and the Rhodian fell hard to the ground. The other troopers seized him, and hauled him back to his feet.

"You are under arrest for treason against the galactic empire," barked the trooper that had struck him. "Treason?" Pent asked painfully. "We have witnesses testifying to your alleged support of the Rebellion." With that Pent stood a little straighter. "Those testimonies are true," he said. The stormtroopers hesitated, not used to outright confessions. "I do support the Rebellion, for what it stands for," Pent continued, "They stand for freedom, and equality, and justice. Not the bondage that the Empire holds us in"

With that the troopers attacked. They pushed Pent to the ground and beat him with their feet and guns. "No!" Arkae cried, and ran outside. The stormtroopers looked up. "Stun her!" They shot at her with blue rays. She managed to avoid the first few, but one caught the side of her chest. The last thing she remembered was falling to the ground.


	3. PtI: A Fate Written In The Stars, Ch3

I.) A Fate Written In the Stars

Chapter 3

"You worthless slime!" screamed the slavemaster, "What have you done?" The slavemaster struck down the slave, and his head hit hard on the gauge on the side of the large pipe. A burning hot stream of purple gas blast out of the pipe and into Arkae's face. She fell to the floor coughing. "Get up!" sneered the slavemaster, "Seal that pipe and finish working. Now!"

Arkae sat up slowly, still coughing. That gas was poisonous, that's why slaves were used in the processing plant. Slave. That word weighed heavily on her shoulders. It had been a little over a year since Pent had died, and she was sold into slavery by the Empire. She missed him.

She got to work mending the pipe, her tags clanging on the steel. They read Human 985742864. Well, she supposed she now knew what she was. She remembered being processed… It was terrible. They had checked her for strength and health, and then injected her with an explosive so that she would not try to escape. However, the device was rejected by her body and fell out. She kept it just in case. But, the worst part was when they clipped her vocal cords. This was so the slaves could not conspire. The utter pain of the cruel process had all but faded from memory, but the worst pain came from the fact that she could no longer speak. Her only consolation was the fact her pendant was not taken away, for she had managed to hide it from the slave traders.

The bell rang for the end of the 14-hour shift. She got into the back of the line as the slavemaster lead them back to the slave quarters. She felt weak. Dizzy. Her head was spinning. She couldn't stop coughing. She fell to her knees, and then sank to the ground as the world started to darken…

…

Arkae lay on the ground unconscious. A tall man approached her and checked her pulse. He frowned, and then took out a small tool. It made a whirling sound as he scanned her. He looked at the sonic screwdriver, confused. "But… It can't be," he said. He began to perform CPR.

She coughed back to life. Her head felt numb. She tried to sit up, but she was too dizzy. "Easy," said the man. He helped her slowly sit up. She looked at him. Tall. Dark, unkempt hair. Bow-tie. Who was he? "Hello," he said, "I'm the Doctor." A doctor?

The Doctor held up a tissue near her mouth. "Can you cough for me?" She did. He held it up to her nose. "Now, blow." She did. He held up the tissue to she could see the purplish substance on it. "You see? All of the trilithium quaceranide is gone. He scanned her forehead with the sonic screwdriver. "You're going to be fine," he said as he handed her a cup. "Here it's water. She took it and drank.

He took out a brown square from his jacket pocket. Arkae looked at him. "Don't worry, look," said the Doctor. He took a small bite. "It's chocolate. It'll help." She took it and bit into it slowly.

"What's your name?" the Doctor asked her. Arkae looked down. "Oh, I see," he said, "Basic enslaving device. Deactivating the vocal chords. Here, this should do it." He scanned her mouth and throat with the sonic. She looked at him strangely. "Try talking," he said, "Can you tell me your name?" "Ar…Arkae," she croaked. She gasped. She could talk again! The Doctor smiled.

"I would let those heal up more before you try talking again," he said, "Do you think you can walk now?" She nodded, and he helped her to stand. She tried to walk but swayed. "Whoa," he said and balanced her.

She started to walk to the slave quarters and realized the Doctor wasn't there anymore. She turned around just in time to see him turn the corner. She followed, and she saw him enter a blue Police Box. It looked very out of place. It made a strange noise and started to disappear. "Wait!" she said. She walked up to it and put her hand out, but it was gone. She looked to the dark sky. "Thank you," she whispered. She looked down and saw a small black band. She picked it up, and from the side of it came a shining white light that spelt, "Believe in Heroes."


	4. PtI: A Fate Written In The Stars, Ch4

I.) A Fate Written In the Stars

Chapter 4

Arkae looked around her. Everybody was asleep. She silently got out of bed, snuck past the snoring guard, and, without a sound, ran into the night. She entered the holoroom with ease. (She had already figured out the access code.) She logged onto the computer and shut down all the security cameras, as per the plan. When she was finished, she glanced outside. She still had some time. She went back to the computer and accessed the archives once again, letting the wonders of the Jedi fill her with hope.

The Jedi. Heroes of the Republic. Wiped out by the Empire. Banned from the minds of its subjects. She had snuck into this room every night just to study them and their history. Arkae began to revere one Jedi Master in particular. One Obi-Wan Kenobi. Pent had once said that she will make a great Jedi one day. Not "could have made" a great Jedi… "Will make" a great Jedi. What did that mean?

She sensed a guard coming. Quickly, she powered down the holocomputer and hid behind the console. She heard footsteps. A silhouette of a large man with a gun drifted across the wall. Her hearts pounded, but he moved on. When she heard the footsteps fade, she ran back into the night.

…

Arkae looked at the map that the old slave next to her had drawn in the sand. He had been at the facility for 15 years, ever since the Empire took over, and knew it well. He pointed with a calloused hand to the slave quarters and drew a line to symbolize the best possible escape route. Then he inscribed instructions in the sand.

She was to lead the whole operation. They had chosen her because she was the only one who could speak and communicate if any danger arose. She was scared; she had never done anything like this before! But everybody was relying on her, so she didn't let anyone know of her fear.

The lights of the factory were shutting off, and the third moon was rising. It was time to move. The slaves snuck into the night. They ran from building to building, evading the guards and camera probes. Finally, they reached the first gate. It was ray shielded. They waited while one of them, who was once a shield technician, skillfully deactivated the obstacle. They moved on.

They moved past the main factory. Arkae used the Force to stir up dust to reveal the web of lasers around them. She then led the way through them. At one point a girl about her age almost toppled over into a laser. Arkae reacted and caught her with the Force. She could feel the fear of the slaves around her. Why were they scared of her? Quickly, she helped the girl up and moved on.

The main gate of the compound loomed ahead. It was 30 feet tall and armed with motion-activated blasters. One man ran into one of the towers, barely evading the singeing blast bolts. They heard grunting as he knocked out the guard inside. The door began to squeal as it slowly opened. Arkae flinched. She didn't know the gate was this noisy. The man stuck his head out and nodded, indicating the blasters had been turned off. One by one they snuck through the small gap in the gate.

About half had made it through when Arkae felt it. Anger. "Hurry!" she whispered. She heard loud footsteps, and turned to see ten guards rushing towards them. They must have tripped a silent alarm.

"Go!" she hissed. Just ten more people. Ten more people to be free. A blast of wind rushed over them as a slaver ship hovered above them. It started firing stun bolts down at them. Slaves were dropping unconscious as they are hit by the blue bolts. The guards were upon them now, beating down people and binding their wrists.

Arkae dodged a few blasts from the ship, and took cover behind a wall. In her hand was the small explosive that the slavers had tried to inject into her. She looked up at the hover craft, and back down to the chaos below. She took aim and threw the small device into one of the engines. An explosion ripped apart the sky as the ship broke apart violently. The ship crashed in a ball of flame into the outer wall, forcing rubble and dust into the sky.

Arkae sat on the ground, blown back from the explosion, her ears ringing. Suddenly, a guard was upon her. She tried to fight him, but he was far larger than her. He had her down in handcuffs, and then everything went black.


	5. PtI: A Fate Written In The Stars, Ch5

I.) A Fate Written In the Stars

Chapter 5

They had been recaptured. All of them. And all of them had been punished. Beaten. Security was tighter, and the slave drivers had become more brutal. Arkae looked up from her work as a ship dropped into the hangar. She hoped it wasn't another slave vessel. She couldn't bear it if more people were to be put through this. Nobody should have to go through this. A slave driver struck the back of her head, and she flinched, but continued working.

"This wasn't what I asked!" screamed the slave master across the room. The slave master struck, and beat the slave to the ground. "No! Stop!" she said. The slave master didn't hear, but she could hear the pitiful, distorted cries, the snap of the whip, and pounding of feet and fists.

Arkae felt something inside of her. She felt angry. She had to do something. "Stop!" she said, then used a powerful Force push, slamming the slave master against the wall, knocking him out cold.

The room went silent. Everybody was staring at her. She could sense mixed emotions bleeding from them. Fear. Surprise. Anger. She had just blown it for good. A slave driver picked her up by her collar and slammed her against the wall.

"So, this slime can speak, and use the Force," he spat. "Well, you'll soon learn what we think of that."

…

Arkae lay on the ground, bruised and beaten. She was sore all over. The pain of the blows by the slave master seared over her like a hungry fire. Her face was swollen so bad her eyes were almost shut, and she was bleeding from multiple places. She flinched as she saw the slave master raise the whip again.

"Hey! Hey, what are you doing?!," the smuggler said, as he held the slave master's arm. The slave master scoffed, "This slave is more trouble than she's worth." "Then maybe I can relieve you of her," said the smuggler. The slave master looked at him incredulously, "If you think you can reign in this arrogant slime, then be my guest, Captain Solo."

…

She sat in the infirmary of the large smuggling ship. It wasn't the nicest ship. It

looked very lived in. The Captain appeared to have made many modifications to it, as wires hung from the ceiling and the control panels looked like they have been smoldered and re-smoldered. Captain Solo walked in. "You okay, kid?" Arkae nodded, "Yes, thank you Captain Solo." He laughed. "Call me Han," he said as he took a small first-aid kit out of a drawer. He reached up to clean the gash on her head. She winced. "Hey, relax," he said. "You're not a slave anymore." "What?" "Well what did you think?" he laughed. She couldn't believe it. "Thank you!" she said. "No problem," Han said, "I hate those slaver scum." "Me too," she said.

"Are you going to tell me your name?" he asked. "Oh, it's Arkae," she replied. "Just Arkae?" She nodded. Han looked up at her. "Hm. Okay, well Arkae, next spaceport we get to I'll let you off." "Let me off?" "Yeah, I freed you, but I'm not going to be your babysitter." "Oh," she said, "Okay."

With that a giant Wookie swaggered in and grunted something at Han. "Alright, I'll be there in a minute! Don't get your fur in a twist," Han replied. He looked back at Arkae. "Before you ask, that's Chewbacca, my first mate." Han finished dressing a gash on her arm and stood up. "Okay, well, don't touch anything," he said, and walked out of the room.

Arkae sat on the table. She was worried about the other slaves. What was to become of them? What was going to happen to her once they got to the spaceport? She wasn't even ten years old. Well, at least for now she was safe. She felt the ship jolt slightly as they entered hyperspace.

A few minutes later Han entered with a plate of food. Some kind of meat and bread. "Here, eat something," he said, "You look like you haven't eaten in weeks." Arkae took the plate of food. "I haven't," she said, looking up at him. She saw his troubled expression and quickly looked down at the food. "Thank you," she said, and he walked back to the cockpit.


	6. PtI: A Fate Written In The Stars, Ch6

I.) A Fate Written In the Stars

Chapter 6

The Millennium Falcon sped through hyperspace. Arkae sat in the back seat of the cockpit, watching the swirling blue light around them. After she showered Han had given her clean clothes. Stolen clothes no doubt, but they fit better and smelt nicer than her old ones. He also gave her some money for when they touched down at the spaceport on Dantooine. She still didn't know what she was going to do once they arrived. She didn't want to be living on the streets.

Han walked back into the cockpit and pat Chewie on the shoulder. "We're going to have to make a quick pit stop," he said, "Looks like we've cracked a fuel line. We're going to have to spacewalk to fix it." The Wookie growled back unhappily, but dropped the ship out of hyperspace. It jolted as the stars around them became streaks of light, and then distant twinkles in the backdrop. The man and the giant Wookie left the cockpit without a word.

Arkae glanced around the cockpit and studied all the buttons and levers. They were so intricate. Buttons for life support, power cells, altitude, speed… She could hear Han and Chewie's conversation over the intercom, but she didn't pay attention to it. She stared out of the view port. She noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. It was Chewbacca's legs dangling over the window. "Chewie stop screwing around! Magnetize your boots and get over here!," crackled Han's voice on the intercom.

But, wait. That wasn't the movement she had noticed. It was a ship. It just appeared, and was heading straight towards them. From the way Han and Chewie were arguing at this point she didn't think they had noticed it. She pressed a button on the dash. "Han?" she said. "What?" he answered. "Is that a ship?" she asked. "No! Nobody would be this far out…" Han's voice trailed off as he finally noticed the giant ship almost on top of them. "Chewie! Get inside! Bounty hunters!" he yelled.

The ship rocked violently as the bounty hunters fired at them. Arkae could hear the ship strain around her. Was this hunk of junk going to hold together?! She heard the airlock open as the Falcon took another hit. She heard a crash, and someone yelling. She sprang up and ran to see what it was.

She found Han on the ground, trapped under twisted and melted metal. He was groaning in pain. "Han!" she said, and ran to him. She tried to push off the rubble, but Han just screamed in response. "Agh! Stop!" he yelled. "What happened?" she asked. "Those bounty hunters destroyed the airlock! Chewie's still out there!" he said through gritted teeth. The ship shook again. "Here, hold still," said Arkae. She concentrated. She could see the twisted metal. She let the Force flow through her, and lifted it slowly off Han's body. He let out a sigh of relief as she let it clang to the ground next to him. "How did you do that?" he asked.

Before Arkae could answer the Falcon shook violently and creaked loudly. "Gotta get out of here!" said Han, and he tried to stand up but slammed back to the ground in pain. Arkae could see he had a bad burn on his leg just above his knee. It might have been much worse had he not been wearing his space suit. He twisted around to face her. "Do you know how to fly?" he asked, panting. She shook her head, growing nervous as to where this was going. "Well, you better learn!" he shouted as the ship moaned again, "And find a spacesuit, the hull could burst at any moment." She hesitated, "But-" "Go!"

Arkae frantically looked around and spotted another space suit. It would be huge on her, but it was better than the alternative. She had barely zipped it up when a huge explosion rocked the ship. The bounty hunters had blown a hole through the crushed airlock, and were now boarding the Falcon. Arkae was swept off her feet as the immense force of the vacuum sucked her towards the giant gap in the ship. She reached out and managed to grab the side of a control panel, holding on with all the strength she could muster. A hydro-spanner flew out of nowhere and crashed into her helmet, cracking the glass. She heard hissing as the air in her suit started to escape.

And then it stopped. She slammed back to the floor as the emergency doors snapped shut over the gap and air rushed back into the room. She turned over to see a large, lizard-like bounty hunter stand up and shake himself off. Han struggled to get to his gun, which had ended up on the other side of the room. Chewie was still outside; Arkae could hear banging on the roof above her as he fought off his assailant. She stood up, heartbeat pounding in her ears, and gasped as two tentacles wrapped themselves around her arms from behind, and another held a knife to her throat.

"Hey, looks like he picked up a stray," said a throaty voice behind her, "I wonder how much she's worth on the market? Kinda small…" No. No, she was not going to be sold back into slavery! She struggled, but the tentacled alien's grip just got tighter. "Don't worry," he said, "We'll take care of ya. Just as soon as we take care of Captain Solo." He and his partner laughed sinisterly. The lizard-like alien had Han at gun-point.

She had to do something. She kicked back hard at the bounty hunter's legs, and then flung herself forward into a somersault and landed in her back with the tentacled alien under her. He grunted and loosened his grip enough for her to escape. She got up kicked his knife away. The look on his beaked face was shocked for a moment, then he grew angry and used his tentacles to stand himself back up, ready to pounce. Arkae slid under him and grabbed his knife sitting in the corner. She threw it at the alien, pinning the tip of his tentacle to the wall. Blue-ish blood spurt out of it and he screamed in pain and anger.

Arkae turned to see that the large lizard alien had hauled Han up and was dragging him out of the ship, gun to his head. Arkae noticed Han's gun at her feet. She kicked it to him and he was able to catch it and fire it first at the tentacled alien and then behind him at the lizard bounty hunter, killing them both instantly. Han slumped to the ground. Arkae was a bit shocked. She didn't think Han was going to kill them. "It was either us or them," he said bluntly after seeing the look on her face. She nodded, still a bit distraught.

They heard a creaking noise at the other side of the ship and a few second later Chewbacca ran in, grunting and rambling on about how they have to be more careful next time. "Yeah, yeah," said Han, "Just get us back on route to Dantooine." Chewbacca growled his concern about Han's leg. "I'll be fine, just go!" said Han impatiently. The giant Wookie grunted something under his breath as he walked out of the room.

Arkae looked at Han's burnt leg and flinched. It looked bad. She went to fetch the first aid kit that he had used on her earlier and handed it to him. "Thanks," he said, taking out some kind of cream and rubbing it on the burn, a look of relief flooding over his face. He then handed her a small cloth. She looked confused. "Wipe off that blood," he said. Arkae reached up at the gash on her head and looked at her now reddened fingers. She had not realized that her cut had started to bleed again. She took the wipe and started to clean her face off.

"So," said Han, "Where did you learn to fight like that?" Arkae shrugged. "Not sure," she said, "I can't remember." "Hm," Han said, "Well, it would certainly come in handy next time we encounter any trouble." "Wait… You mean I can stay?" she asked. "Yeah," he said, "We could use somebody like you."


	7. PtI: A Fate Written In The Stars, Ch7

I.) A Fate Written In the Stars

Chapter 7

Arkae read the news on the holoscreen as Han calculated the figures across the table from her. He was very good at math. In fact, there were a lot of things Arkae had found out about Han over the past year. Han had once been an officer in the Imperial navy, but was dishonorably discharged because he had saved Chewbacca from slavery. She didn't think that was so dishonorable. Then Han had turned to smuggling as a sort of rebellion against the evil Empire. Arkae had also learned that he had grown up without any parents. Somehow, she felt that this had more to do with as to why he let her stay aboard the Falcon than her fighting skills.

Arkae had certainly changed over the year as well. Her once skinny stature had filled out, and she now had a nice athletic build. Her confidence had grown, and she definitely felt a lot more courageous. Han had also taught her how to fly just in case, though he rarely let anyone besides himself pilot the Falcon.

"Hmm… It looks like one of our clients sold us short," Han said, "Chewie, go into the ship and see if we missed anything." The giant Wookie meandered into the Millennium Falcon. Arkae watched a centipede lazily crawl into the holoscreen, and brushed it off. It landed near Han's notepad. "Ugh! Hey watch it!" he said, cringing. She looked up. "Huh?" she said. "Get that thing off the table!" said Han impatiently. She smirked, "It's just a bug." "Just get it off!" he said, giving her one of his looks. She laughed, and used a gentle Force push to place it on a nearby bush. She looked back at Han, eyebrow raised. "What?" he said, sounding somewhat annoyed. "Nothing," she said. Amused, she smiled and continued reading. Apparently, Han also did not like bugs.

Chewbacca stuck his head out from the ramp and grumbled. They did get cheated. "Jabba," said Han under his breath, "Looks like we will have to have a talk with that slimo. Get the ship ready." Arkae snatched up the holoscreen and followed Han back into the ship.

"What am I going to do?" said Han said incredulously to Chewie as Arkae entered the cockpit, "I'm going to drop this pile junk we're hauling for him on top of his slippery slug self if he doesn't pay us the difference." Han grabbed the controls to the ship and initiated take-off. Han was still muttering under his breath about how this happens far too often when they exited the upper atmosphere. He started entering the coordinates to Tatooine into the nav computer when Arkae heard the radar blip as a ship dropped out of hyperspace. "Han," she said. He didn't hear her. "Han!" she said louder. "What, Arkae?" he said. She pointed at the blip on the radar. "Blast!" said Han, "It's an Imperial cruiser!"

Almost as if it were confirming Han's statement, the giant cruiser started firing at the Falcon. "Hang on!" said Han, and sent the ship into a sickening spiral. Arkae had not strapped herself in yet, and lost her balance. She grunted slightly as her bum hit the floor. The ship jolted, then stopped moving. She stood up. "What happened?" she said. "Tractor beam," said Han, frantically pushing buttons. Chewie roared his concern about the cargo they were smuggling. There had been so much not all of it could fit into the smuggling compartments.

A screen blinked to life and the face of an older Imperial officer glared at them. "You are under arrest under the power of the Supreme Emperor," he said, "Prepare to be boarded." The screen went black. Han just stared at it, thinking. "Drop it," he said. Chewbacca growled back. "We don't have a choice!" Han snapped said.

"What if we fire at the source of the tractor beam, and break off of it?" asked Arkae. "Doesn't always work," replied Han. "Worth a shot," she said. "Still, we're going to have to drop the cargo," Han said, "To get close enough to do that, we will have to pass by their scanners." He turned to Chewie and nodded. The Wookie grunted and left the cockpit. "Stay here and keep her steady," Han said to Arkae, "Keep your eyes on the screens, and when we get three clicks away fire the main gun in a spray across the hangar entrance." She nodded, getting into the pilot seat. Han left to go help Chewbacca ready the cargo for release.

A few minutes later she saw miniscule blips on the radar. The cargo was being released, floating into space behind them. Ten clicks away. The ship vibrated a little as the Imperial scanners swept through the ship. Seven clicks away. Arkae programmed the main gun. Four clicks. Three clicks! Arkae pressed a button and the ship's blaster started spraying a shower of blaster fire towards the giant ship. Most of them were absorbed by the shield, but a few snuck their way in. Explosions lit up the viewport as the tractor beam broke its grip. Arkae fired up the main engines and pulled the Falcon away from the Imperials.

Han reentered the cockpit. "Good job," he said, as they swapped places. Chewie also walked in and sat in the co-pilot seat. "Punch it!" said Han, and they entered hyperspace. Chewie grumbled something to Han. "I think you're right," Han said, "Looks like we owe Jabba now."


	8. PtI: A Fate Written In The Stars, Ch8

I.) A Fate Written In the Stars

Chapter 8

They were at Docking Bay 94 at the Mos Eisley Spaceport on Tatooine. Arkae leaned against the ramp of the Millennium Falcon and waited for Han and Chewie to come back from the cantina. Just a quick drink, they said. Just ten minutes, they said. Yeah, right. They were probably running some scam.

She looked up to see a man in green, scratched-up Mandalorian armor holding a large gun enter the small, circular hangar. It was Boba Fett, the most dangerous bounty hunter in the galaxy. She stood up straight as several other bounty hunters entered behind him, and then a fat, slug-like creature.

Jabba the Hutt drug his corpulent self up to Arkae and addressed her in Huttese. "Where is Captain Solo?" he bellowed, his wide mouth drooling a bit. "Why?" she said, holding back her disgust. "He has something that belongs to me," said the sluggish crime lord, twisting his body to try to see into the ship. Arkae stepped in front of him. "I doubt it," she said, "But, why don't you come back later. He's out." "Don't play games with me, girl," said Jabba, pushing his way past her. "Solo!" he bellowed at the Falcon, "Come out of there, Solo! Solo!"

"Right here, Jabba," said Han, entering the docking bay. Chewbacca was behind him; he had his bowcaster out. Han grinned, "I've been waiting for you." "Have you now?" said Jabba. "You didn't think I was gonna run, did you?" said Han, walking close up to the Hutt. Uncomfortably close.

"Han, my boy, you disappoint me," said Jabba, "Why haven't you paid me? Why did you fry poor Greedo?" Arkae raised her eyebrow at Chewbacca, who just shrugged back at her. "Look, Jabba, next time you want to talk to me, come see me yourself. Don't send one of these twerps," Han said, gesturing to the bounty hunters around them. "Han, I can't make exceptions," said Jabba calmly, "What if everyone who smuggled for me dropped their cargo at the first sign of an Imperial starship? It's not good for business."

Han was starting to grow impatient. "Look, Jabba, even I get boarded sometimes. You think I had a choice? I got a nice, easy charter now. Pay you back a little extra. I just need a little more time." "Han, my boy, you're the best," said the slug, "So for an extra twenty percent…" "Fifteen, Jabba, don't push it," snapped Han. "Okay, fifteen percent," Jabba shrugged, "But if you fail me again, I'll put a price on your head so big, you won't be able to go near a civilized system!" Han just turned to walk into the Falcon. "Jabba," he said, "You're a wonderful human being." Jabba glared and then told his thugs to follow him out.

Arkae watched, and then turned to Han. "A charter?" she asked. "Yeah," said Han, "Just some locals and their droids. They offered seventeen thousand just for passage to Alderaan." "You didn't brag to them about how fast the Falcon is, did you?" asked Arkae. "So what if I did!" said Han. "A parsec is a measure of distance, not time!" laughed Arkae. "Just go prepare for take-off!" said Han. Arkae smiled, and entered the ship.

She went to the hyperdrive and did a systems check. It always seemed to act up. When she was done, she entered the main hold. Sitting in the passenger seats were an old man with graying hair and a young man with blond hair. Beside them was a blue and silver R2 unit and a golden protocol droid. The old man saw her first. He stood up and shook her hand, " Hello, I'm Ben Kenobi," he said, smiling. Ben Kenobi? I wonder if he knows Obi-Wan Kenobi… The old man continued, "And this is Luke Skywalker." The young man smiled and said hi quietly. "I'm Arkae," she said. Ben was taken aback for a minute, then smiled. "It is nice to meet you, Arkae," he said. The protocol droid shuffled up to her. "And I am C3P-O, human cyborg relations," it said in a rather stuffy voice, "And this is my counterpart, R2-D2." The R2 unit whistled a greeting.

Before Arkae could respond she heard blaster fire from outside. "Chewie, get us out of here!" screamed Han, running into the ship, blaster out and smoking. Chewie grunted and started the engines, ship rattling. "I would strap yourselves in!" said Arkae to their passengers as she ran into the cockpit.

Out of the viewport she could see stormtroopers firing at the ship as Chewbacca pulled them up out of the docking bay and up into the outer atmosphere. Chewie pointed at the radar scope." "Looks like an Imperial cruiser," said Han, "Our passengers must be hotter than I thought. Try and hold them off. Arkae, angle the deflector shield while I make the calculations for the jump to lightspeed." Arkae pressed a series of buttons to adjust the shield. "Stay sharp," Han said to Chewie, "There are two more coming in; they're going to try to cut us off!"

At that moment Luke and Ben entered the small cockpit. "Why don't you outrun them?" said Luke, "I thought you said this thing was fast!" Han glared at Luke. "Watch your mouth, kid, or you'll find yourself floating home," he said, "We'll be safe enough once we make the jump to hyperspace. Besides, I know a few maneuvers, we'll lose them!"

The Star Destroyers started firing and the ship rocked violently. Han grinned. "This is where the fun begins!" he said. Arkae just looked sideways at him.

"How long before you can make the jump to lightspeed?" asked Ben calmly. "It'll take a few moments to get the coordinates from the nav computer," said Arkae, glancing at the nav computer screen, which still said "calculating." "Are you kidding me, at the rate they're gaining?!" whined Luke. "Traveling though hyperspace ain't like dusting crops, boy," snapped Han, "Without precise calculations we could fly right through a star or bounce too close to a supernova, and that'd end your trip real quick, wouldn't it?" The ship took another hit of blaster fire.

A red light started flashing on the dashboard. "What's that flashing?" asked Luke, pointing at it. Han slapped his hand away, "We're losing our deflector shield, go strap yourselves in, I'm going to make the jump to lightspeed!" Ben and Luke exited the cockpit and Arkae sat in one of the back seats and buckled the strap. Finally, the stars in front of them turned into streaks and they entered hyperspace, leaving the Imperial destroyers behind.


	9. PtI: A Fate Written In The Stars, Ch9

I.) A Fate Written In The Stars

Chapter 9

Arkae suddenly felt a bit faint. Her heart felt as if it had been stabbed. She felt cold, and she started sweating. She let out a small moan and Han turned to her. "You okay?" he asked. Arkae nodded, the feeling starting to fade, but slowly. She shrugged. "I don't know what it was," she said, "I'll be fine." Han frowned at her, then got up and left the cockpit. Arkae remained in her seat and stared out of the viewport. She felt… empty. She felt like she had just witnessed billions of people die. All at once. But, why?

A light flashed. They were approaching Alderaan. Han and Chewie entered the cockpit and took their spots in the pilot and co-pilot seats. "Stand by, Chewie, here we go" said Han, switching off the hyperdrive, "Cut in the sub-light engines." They dropped out of hyperspace only to be hammered by chunks of debris, making the whole ship shake. "What the?" said Han, "Aw, we've come out of hyperspace into a meteor shower. Some kind of asteroid collision. It's not on any of the charts." Arkae frowned. Strange. She felt something. A dark presence. "I have a bad feeling about this," she said. Chewie growled in agreement.

Luke and Ben entered the cockpit again. "What's going on?" Luke asked. "Our position is correct, except no Alderaan!" said Han. "Where is it" said Luke. "That's what I'm trying to tell you, kid. It ain't there! It's been totally blown away." "But, how?" asked Arkae. She didn't know if she wanted to know the answer. Was this what she had felt earlier?

"Destroyed," said Ben somberly, "By the Empire." Han frowned. "The entire Starfleet couldn't destroy the whole planet," he said, "It'd take a thousand ships with more fire power then I've-" Han stopped as an alarm sounded. "There's another ship coming in," he said. "Maybe they'll know what happened," suggested Luke. "It's an Imperial fighter," said Ben.

The TIE fighter streaked across the viewport. "It followed us!" said Luke incredulously. "But, it couldn't have, that's a short-range fighter," said Arkae, "There must be a base nearby." "No," said Han, "There aren't any nearby this system. Where did it come from?" "It sure is leaving in a hurry. If they identify us, we're in big trouble," said Luke. "Not if I can help it," said Han, steering after the fighter, "Chewie, jam its transmissions." Ben looked out the viewport thoughtfully, "It'd be as well to let it go," he said, "It's too far out of range." "Not for long," said Han.

Ben was still contemplating the situation. "A fighter that size couldn't get this deep into space on its own," he said. "He must've gotten lost, been part of a convoy or something," said Luke. Han smirked, "Well, he ain't going to be around long enough to tell anybody about us." "Look at him, he's heading for that small moon," said Luke. Arkae saw the moon, too. She frowned. There was something not quite right about it. Han said something about the fighter being almost in range when Ben said, "That's no moon. That's a space station."

"It's too big to be a space station," began Han, but trailed off as they realized the old man was right. Luke exclaimed that he had a bad feeling about this and Ben ordered Han to turn the ship around. Arkae wasn't paying attention. She felt that dark presence stronger than ever and it sent shivers down her spine.

Arkae's focus snapped back to the present as Han said, "We're caught in a tractor beam! It's pulling us in!" The ship vibrated as they tried to reverse, without avail. Arkae concentrated at the space station. A base like that probably had internalized tractor beam routers. No chance of blasting their way free again.

"There's gotta be something you can do!" said Luke. "There's nothing I can do about it, kid, I'm in full power," said Han, "I'm going to have to shut down, but they're not getting me without a fight." He shut down the Falcon and the cockpit went dark. The ship stopped shaking. "You can't win," said Ben, "But there are alternatives to fighting."

"The holds," said Arkae. Han looked at her questioningly. "It's better than getting shot," she said. Han sighed. "Follow me," he said.

…

They had hidden themselves inside the smuggling holds. It was cramped, but better than nothing. After waiting for the first group of stormtroopers to leave Ben had proclaimed that he would take care of the tractor beam so that they could escape.

A few minutes later they had heard a scanning crew coming aboard. Chewie knocked them out and Han yelled, "Hey down there! Could you give us a hand with this?" Two stormtroopers entered the ship and met two deadly blaster bolts. Han and Luke scrambled to get the armor on. Arkae laughed at Luke when the armor was far too big for him.

Arkae asked what she was going to do. "You're staying here," said Han, strapping the stormtrooper's utility belt around his waist, "But-," she protested. "I think that is wise, young one," said Ben, "You will be safer inside the ship." "It's not so much safe as it is a quick get away," said Han. With that Obi-Wan gave him a look. Han gave the look right back. "She can fight," Han said, looking down to load his gun, "She's stronger than she looks." Obi-Wan sat back in his seat and stroked his beard thoughtfully, "I bet she is," he said. And with that they all snuck off the Falcon to find a way to destroy the tractor beam, leaving her to guard the ship.


	10. PtI: A Fate Written In The Stars, Ch10

I.) A Fate Written In the Stars

Chapter 10

Arkae sat inside the Millennium Falcon and waited for their return. She thought about earlier when she had felt faint and thought that this space station most definitely had something to do with it. Then she thought about Ben Kenobi, and how he had been surprised to hear her name. His reaction was the same as Pent's when they had heard her name was Arkae. And come to think of it, Chewbacca and Han had also had a slight reaction to it as well. It certainly was strange.

She heard commotion outside the ship and peered out of the ramp. Dozens of stormtroopers crawled the hanger they were in. Uh oh…

…

A while later Arkae heard strange noises. She couldn't describe them if she tried. She looked outside and saw the stormtroopers run towards the sounds, but she still couldn't see what was making them. She saw Han, Luke, the droids, and a young woman with strange hair across the hangar. Han motioned at her to prep the Falcon. Arkae nodded and went inside the cockpit. She heard Luke yell and then blasterfire. She started the engines and Han rushed in to take the pilot's seat. Arkae scrunched her nose. "Why do you smell like poodoo?" she asked. Han gave her a look of "you don't want to know" as Chewie entered the cockpit.

"I hope the old man got that tractor beam out of commission or this is going to be a real short trip," said Han, "Okay, hit it!" With that they blast out of the giant space station. Four blips appeared on the radar. "We're coming up on their sentry ships," said Han, "Hold them off! Angle the deflector shield while I charge up the main guns!" Chewie grunted and flipped some switches while Arkae followed Han out of the cockpit.

Arkae and Han took separate gun turrets. She strapped herself in and took the controls. She remembered the first time she had to do this she was very hesitant, but she had turned out to be a natural at it. A dead shot. She could give Han a run for his money.

A TIE fighter streaked across the viewport of her gun, and she shot at it. Blast, out of range. The small fighter turned around to come for another pass, firing green lasers at them. She fired at the ship and her laser caught it square in the center. With a burst of flames and sparks, it was gone. Out of the corner of the window she saw another explosion. Han had hit one, too. However then the ship shook violently and she could hear a fir extinguisher from the other room.

She concentrated on the space battle. Everything was moving so fast. She saw Han had hit another fighter, and only one was left. Where was it? She reached out with the Force. Ah, there it is. She fired into supposedly empty space, and watched at the TIE fighter flew right into her blast and it was destroyed. She grinned, and sat back in her seat. She heard cheering from the other room, and a few seconds later the Millenuim Falcon entered hyperspace.

…

Arkae and Chewie were mad at Han as they flew away from Yavin 4, the location of the Rebellion's base. Supposedly the R2 unit had the plans for that space station, called the Death Star. That woman they had rescued, Princess Leia, was a leader of the Rebellion and was delivering the plans to the Rebel base so that they could destroy the Death Star. Incredibly the Rebels had found a weak spot, and made plans to attack it immediately. Luke had stayed to help. Han decided he was content with his reward. Arkae and Chewie didn't approve; they wanted to stay and help. It was the least they could do as Ben had sacrificed his life to enable their escape from the Death Star. Han called the mission suicide, and they had left the rebel base in a hurry.

It was quiet inside the Falcon. Han turned to them. "What now?" he said, seeing the looks on Chewbacca and Arake's faces. Chewie grunted quietly and left the room. Arkae didn't respond. Han turned back to the controls, exasperated. Arkae could feel his inner turmoil. It actually got quite close to guilt.

"It wasn't a good plan, they never had a chance," said Han, "I mean, a few rebels against a battle station the size of a moon? Come on!" Han was quiet for a few minutes, then uttered a few Corellian swear words under his breath. He dropped the ship out of hyperspace and turned it around. Arkae smiled.

They dropped out of hyperspace to see the giant Death Star loom over them, chunks of debris scattered above it from all the destroyed ships. "Luke's in the trench," said Arkae, "He's in trouble, hurry!" Han steered the Falcon towards the trench, and they could see TIE fighters in pursuit of a lone X-wing. Han charged up the main gun. "Let's blast these suckers!" he said, "Yahoo!"

Han fired at the TIE fighters. One exploded. The other careened into the other and they went spinning into space. "You're all clear, kid," said Han over the intercom, "Now let's blow this thing and go home!" Arkae saw Luke's ship fire the proton torpedoes, and as they sped away from the Death Star, the giant space station exploded in a blinding flash of light.


End file.
